Looney Tunes Back In Action

So the situation is the new Space Jam will get a review Saturday, not Friday because of work hence the oddball schedule this week.

I have so much to talk about here. This is one of the most interesting movies not only to watch but to talk about, it is truly a film in it's own world that must be experienced. I'm not even really sure how to start. I owned this movie on DVD all those years ago and watched it often, and seeing it again after 15 years is kind of a trip. So the film is basically an adventure movie with Bugs and Daffy as they assist two employees of the Warner Bros. company, an uptight vice president played by Jenna Elfman and the son of a spy actor played by Brendan Fraser. It goes off the rails quick in terms of story I suppose like any Looney Tunes cartoon, with chases, slapstick, plots of world domination, and more. I genuinely feel it is a worthy movie to see and not just be left in 2003 when it was released, there's a lot I admire and enjoy about it despite the movie being this utter grab bag of different plot elements yet it pulls it off pretty good. It does kinda break my heart that all tellings of the production pointed to it being a disaster with Joe Dante having a rough time making the movie due to executive control, because they did good work. I think they flat out got some cathartic satire of making Warner Bros. and pretty much every studio system look like braying jackasses, it's kind of beautiful actually. The personalities of the Looney Tunes are present and strong, a distinct action by Joe Dante who absolutely loathed Space Jam and how the characters were treated, and it fits perfectly in with the world of those cartoons. It does have that same spirit, it does have that good humor, it's handled mighty well! I laughed often and even when I didn't I still appreciated the humor. I'm trying so hard not to spiral out and just talk about random things but I feel it's kind of a losing battle with a film like this. We get science fiction references galore in Area 52, including the first time I ever saw Daleks though I had no idea what they were called. Timothy Dalton is essentially playing James Bond again which I absolutely loved. Steve Martin, God bless him man, he had to take on a role of a egomaniacal villain in a post Austin Powers world with mixed success. The celebrity cameos in this is off the charts, Dick Miller, Ron Perlman, Joan Cusack, Matthew Lillard, Roger Corman, friggin' Goldberg, it's outrageous how many people they got for this. The animation style looks airbrushed to shit, and it's not as perfectly mixed with live action as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but it looks good and still has that good fluidity of motion. It's just a bonkers movie to the max, not to the point of overstimulation but certainly fraking hard to talk about after viewing. I do recommend it, but as for a rating I'm a bit stumped. I did like it, it captured the spirit and fun of the Looney Tunes, Brendan is the best part of the movie period, great references, good comedy, odd yet entertaining. 3 stars, 7/10, and the 90s classic is up next.

Nightmares In Red White And Blue

What a day. What a lovely day!

YES!!! It's here, the most wonderful time of year! And what better occasion to actually talk about one of my favorite documentaries of all time, no joke I really do sit down and watch this at least once every single year. And I've seen really good documentaries on Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, and I can't truly put my finger on why this one is such a instant classic for me. It follows the basic history of the horror genre from 1910 to 2009, seeing how the genre shaped and formed throughout each decade. I think the biggest reason I always come back to this is because of the guests, they really pulled all the stops cause you get John Carpenter, Joe Dante, friggin' Lance Henriksen narrates, Roger Corman the king himself, and good ol' Mr. Romero all are there among other dignified and quite intelligent guests. It's just so interesting to hear their stances on specific films and what horror meant to them as time went on. And in true horror style they don't shy away from anything, oh sure you see the blood and the nipples and the hoopblah, but it brings up real world shit and they show real world shit whereas other documentaries might not even bring it up. The collection of clips did elicit reactions from me whether from film or life, and it's a practical feast to the eyes seeing so many advertisments for horror movies and clips galore. But the film is not terribly in-depth and the production values while still good are on the lower end of the spectrum, and that honestly doesn't hurt it for me personally, credits and all it's about an hour and forty minutes so you certainly get ample time. To be honest the thought never once occured to me until I watched this for the first time, is the fact that horror movies are the most reflective and product of their times pieces of media ever. You get a real strong grasp on that time and place in the world and more importantly what scared it by watching a certain horror movie, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers sums up the 1950s, The Exorcist sums up the 70s, and so on. I was just watching a scary movie before but if you stop and think about it, pieces of the jigsaw start popping into place. It's just a wonderful documentary and you can watch it on Amazon Prime right now, it gets nothing but recommendations from me and I hope you have a real good time with it as well. 4 stars, 8/10! And I might just say screw it and give you a fun and family friendly movie to check out this Saturday, I mean this year is off enough as is so if you can't beat it join it.

Gremlins

Yes, I'm serious! Gremlins is a great Christmas movie.

Directed by horror master Joe Dante, Gremlins is a bizzare, violent, and disturbing movie all set around the most wonderful time of the year. Makes sense to me! It starts in classic science fiction fashion, in a small town where a young teenager receives a most interesting pet for Christmas. Known as a Mogwai, this cute furry little fellow seems innocent enough as long as you follow these 3 rules: 1. Never put it in bright light, 2. Never get it wet, and 3. Never feed it after midnight. Unfortunately, the Mogwai named Gizmo accidentaly gets wet and actually multiplies, creating several other Mogwai's all with different personalities. Not very long after, through a simple slip of time the multiplied Mogwai's eat after midnight causing them to mutate and transform into red eyed, scaly, sharp toothed little demons from hell who take no time to start terrorizing and attacking the locals. So as it is in these movies, it's up to our main character, his crush, and his pet to stop all the hell raising critters. Pretty great movie in execution although not being highly original in concept. The main highlight of the movie are the gremlins, they are completely nuts. They just want to party all night, kick ass, and are not afraid to severely hurt people. This movie has to be seen to be believed man. I cannot even elaborate on the proceedings without sounding like I am on five different kinds of hard drugs. Watch this movie! Zach Galligan is a great protagonist, Phoebe Cates is a heart throb if I've ever seen one, all the supporting cast is great, especially Dick Miller. Dick Miller is the man. The sheer shenanigans in this movie are too many to count, the horrific creature deaths are a sight to behold since all the gremlins are animatronics, it is unreal how great the effects are! It is very Christmas in atmosphere, and it surprises me how many people pop this movie in around December. I mean who doesn't want to see creepy creatures brutally attacking people and seeing them die in fantastic gruely ways? I know I do. And maybe you should too, so give it a watch. Just don't let the Santa speech sink too deep, that's some heavy stuff man.